


Sunflowers.

by blacklioness15



Category: SEVENTEEN - Fandom, TWICE - Fandom
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Hanahaki AU, In the face, M/M, That's it, angst but with a happy ending, i loved it, jihoon is an oblivious idiot, jihoon is punched once, kwannie is the bestest friend yes, minghao and seokmin are the best friends anyone could ask for, my gay popped out while I wrote Yoonji's scene, protect her pls, sana is a cute baby, seungkwan hooks up with an unknown dude, shameless self insert yes, tooth rotting fluff at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 22:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17272673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacklioness15/pseuds/blacklioness15
Summary: "Melina loved sunflowers.But, as she threw up petals after petals, painting the floor of her room a pretty yellow, she started to dread them."Lee Jihoon x ofc





	Sunflowers.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My dude Isi](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+dude+Isi).



> I wrote this for six hours straight, moved by chicken and soda.
> 
> I hope everyone likes it as much as I did! And pls tell me if you cried bc my tears writing this were endless :')

Melina loved sunflowers.

Ever since she was a little kid, her best memories involved sunflowers; from the time where she picked up a seed and tried to plant it – and it worked, somehow -, to that beautiful garden near the alley where she kissed her second (and last, for a long time) boyfriend for the last time. 

It was also near a flower shop exposing fresh-looking sunflowers that she met her best friend, Boo Seungkwan.  
As the brunette looked longingly at the yellow petals, Seungkwan opened the door with a fish bowl on his hands, not really looking where he went – colliding with the woman’s shoulder; the blonde was going to cuss her out, but noticed that he was the one not paying attention.

“Sorry!” She exclaimed, looking at the fish bowl instead of Seungkwan’s face. “Oh, thank goodness.”

Looking down at his wet hands, he saw that some of the water splasehd from the bowl, but the fish was intact (Just swishing around, a little shook up). 

“It’s not your fault.” The blonde replied, finally taking a good look at Melina. Black curls framed her tanned face, going down to her shoulders, and dark-brown irises stared back at him from behind rectangular-framed glasses, reflecting the light from the shop’s outer lamps.

“I wasn’t looking at where I was going...”

“It’s okay!” She smiled, waving her hands in front of her face. “It happens. I’m just glad the little one didn’t get hurt.”

“Oh, yeah.” Seungkwan blinked, looking at the fish once again. “I need to get Ponyo to my dorm.”

As the woman giggled, he blushed bright red; the fish’s name – Ponyo – was Seokmin’s idea. 

“Cute.” She smiled once again, nodding to the blonde. “Take care!”

“Ah, wait!” 

Blinking slowly, the brunette tilted her head to the right.

“I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh...” The stranger scratched the back of her head, blushing. “I’m Melina.”

The name sounds familiar…

“I’m Seungkwan.” He smiled brightly, bowing his head. “Sorry again for not looking, and thank you! I’ll take her back safely.”

Melina grinned, waving at the man.

“See you, Seungkwan!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m telling you, she was a foreigner!”

“From where, exactly?”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, not interested on Seokmin and Seungkwan bickering about some girl the latter almost splashed with fish water.

“Mexico? Greece or something. She had really curly hair and tan skin and dark eyes-”

“Did you fall in love with her?”

“Seokmin, I’m fucking gay.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” A feminine voice said from behind, making the men – yes, even Jihoon - whip their heads around.

But it wasn’t Melina, the foreigner. The owner of the voice was another foreigner – Minatozaki Sana.

“Why would that be a relief?” Seokmin asked, genuinely curious.

“She’s shy. And on a new country, so… let’s just say she’s not ready for people interested in her.” The brunette said, leaning her back on the chair she was seated.

Seungkwan blinked, confused.

“Okay.” He shook his head, frowning. “Wait, how do you know her?”

“Oh, we’re roommates!”

“Makes sense.” Jihoon mumbled, suddenly interested. “Where is Yoonji living now, though?”

Sana bit back a ‘hell’, smiling widely – as she mastered after living with said female -; Seungkwan saw right through it, but opted for staying silent.

“She’s at that sorority house, the alpha somethings.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah.” As the professor entered the classroom, Sana leaned back and gestured for the guys to watch the class.

A couple minutes after their History of Music class started, someone opened the door – interrupting Mr. Park midsentence.

“Uh… sorry. Is this the History of Music class?”

Seungkwan’s eyes widened upon hearing the familiar voice, looking at the female that stood awkwardly on the doorway.

“Yes, it is. Can I help you?”

“I’m the new exchange student.” She rubbed the back of her neck shyly, bowing her head. “Sorry for barging in...”

Mr. Park smiled, ushering her in.

“It’s okay, you can sit on any of the empty seats.” He crossed his arms, nodding towards the chairs. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

Mumbling a “thank you”, Melina walked quickly to the seat beside Sana, greeting her with a whisper.

Seokmin elbowed Seungkwan, earning a harsh glare from the younger; Jihoon only sighed, again, deciding to leave them be.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Did you feed Ponyo?”

“No…”

“I’m telling you-” Melina huffed, watching Seungkwan get his ass beat at Mario Kart. “-she’s going to die if you don’t pay attention.”

Hansol snickered from beside the blonde, earning a slap to the arm – that turned into a full blown fight on the living room floor, Mario Kart forgotten.  
Rolling her eyes, the brunette put three little balls on the surface of the fish bowl, smiling as the orange fish swam up to eat them.

It’s been a month since Melina moved to South Korea.

She was Brazilian, as the boys learned a few hours after she appeared on Mr. Park’s class; Sana introduced them all – she didn’t want her roommate to be a loner, after all -, and they hit it off pretty well. Soon after that, she was introduced to the entire group that made up Seungkwan, Jihoon and Seokmin’s friendship circle.  
The exchange student needed some extra hours, so she took up three classes – History of Music, Music Theory and Photography -; none related to her own major (Biology, yes), which everyone found strange, but they discovered later on that she had a passion for singing and could play the guitar fairly well.

“I’m home.” 

The three young adults looked at the recently closed door, seeing Jihoon walk into the dorm room.

“Welcome back.” Melina blurted, widening her eyes after noticing what came out of her mouth.

Hansol snickered, receiving a blow to the stomach (Delivered by Seungkwan’s elbow); the blonde tried to help his friend, motioning for the brunette to sit beside him.  
Jihoon only blinked, smiling right after.

“Thanks.” He replied, walking by the taller woman, patting her head.

The brazilian sat on the couch, kicking Hansol’s thigh subconsciously – Jihoon’s smile still on her mind. The wide, brilliant smile that made his eyes disappear and crinkles form around them.

“Dude, you kicke-”

“Mel, are you okay?”

Gulping, the brunette shook her head.

“Yeah, I’m- I’m fine.” She looked down at the boys, seeing Hansol pouting. “Oh my God, I kicked you. I’m so sorry!”

Said man snickered, waving his hand.

“It’s okay, I was kidding.” He patted her knee, smiling. “Do you want to play? Seungkwan sucks.”

Seeing his offended expression, Melina nodded.

“Gimme the controler.”

The blonde grumbled, but passed the joystick to his friend nonetheless.

“Let’s go.”

And, as Melina played and got beat by Hansol at Mario Kart, the only thing etched onto her mind was Jihoon’s smile.

_This isn’t good._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Why in the fuck are we at a sorority party?”

Minghao looked at Melina as she uttered those words, shrugging.

“I came for the free drinks.” He answered, trying not to get cramped on the corner they were at. “And I’m really regretting it right now.”

“I didn’t even agree...” The woman sighed, being smashed against her friend’s side. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” The chinese man answered, placing an arm around her shoulders. “Kwan dragged you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.” She sighed, leaning onto his side. “I wanted to eat some popcorn at the dorm and watch that new horror movie that sounds promising, but I was dragged out by that devil spawn. Didn’t even let me dress properly.”

Minghao looked down at the brazilian, noticing that she wore a pair of dark jeans and an oversized salmon shirt, topped off with a flannel and sneakers.

“Well, you look amazing anyways.” He said, smiling. “Besides, we match! Only the shirt color is different.”

Really looking at his outfit for the first time, Melina noticed that they did match; if they buttoned up their flannels, no one would notice the different shirts underneath.

“Thank you.” She smiled bashfully, poking his side. “But you do look even more amazing. Your style is A plus.”

As they laughed and made fun of some drunk weirdos at the place, the woman saw Sana’s ex roommate, Yoonji.

She looked stunning.

Her short black hair was neatly combed to stay out of her face, glittering on the dim lighting. Her petite body was clad on black short shorts and a white crop top, giving her a retro vibe along with the bright red lipstick painting her heart shaped lips, while light-brown eyes searched the crowd for something or someone.

For a moment, their eyes met and Melina’s breath hitched.

“She’s gorgeous...” The woman mumbled, catching the attention of her friend.

“What?”

Yoonji smiled, going on their direction.

“Oh, fuck, she’s coming here!”

“Who?”

“Why are you panicking?” Jihoon popped up in front of them, making Melina panic even more.

“Two hot people standing near me, I’m going to fucking combust.” She whispered harshly to Minghao, making him chuckle in realization.

“Only two? Ain’t I one?”

“What are you whispering?”

“Too many questions!!!”

“Hey, Ji!”

The exchange student grimaced upon noticing that Yoonji wasn’t coming near her or Minghao… she was coming after Jihoon.

Which was worse.

“Hey...” He turned around, smiling when he saw the older woman. “Yoonji.”

They started talking, right in front of Melina and Minghao.

And Jihoon blushed.

The brazilian felt a wave of discomfort hit her, bunching up the ends of her shirt on her fists. The way her friend smiled – it wasn’t any smile her or the other guys have seen before; it was something new, and that scared her.

“Hao, I’m going home.” She mumbled, walking out of her friend’s hold. “I’ll text you when I arrive, okay?”

The chinese man wanted to protest, but decided against it; the dorm was three minutes away from where they were and the streets were full of students. Plus, she looked uncomfortable, so he let it go.

“Hmm. Be safe, okay?”

“I will.” She smiled brightly, walking around everyone (Including Yoonji and Jihoon) to get out of the house.

It felt suffocating.

As she got home, patting Sana’s head – who was dead asleep on the couch, with a blanket covering her body -, she noticed something was wrong.

Everything from the past months came pilling up on her head, filling it up with little moments and details about Jihoon she swore to forget. Sighing onto her pillow, she texted Minghao a quick “Got home safely :) Enjoy the drinks!”, turning off her phone right after.

The smile Jihoon gave Yoonji...

“Shit.”

It was at that moment, after seven months and twelve days of having moved to South Korea, that Melina knew she was in love with her friend, Lee Jihoon.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, the Brazilian woke up feeling nauseous; it just got worse when she ate, so she did it lightly – only a slice of toast - before going to her first class of the day: History of Music.

“You look sick… did you eat properly?” Sana, who left their dorm earlier to grab coffee at the cafeteria, asked. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little bit nauseous.” The brunette answered, getting settled at their usual seats on the classroom.

“Nauseous?” Sana tilted her head a little to the right, and Melina resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks. “Are you… pregnant?”

“Pfft.” The younger snickered, leaning her head on the table. “Sana, I haven’t even seen any genitalia in person. I did change some of my little brother’s diapers, but that’s as far as I went.”

The Japanese woman nodded, making a cute pout with her lips.

“Be careful, though. Do you want me to take you to a doctor for a check up?”

“Nah, I’m oka-” The Brazilian was interrupted by the bell, along with a few students – some of which were her own friends – and Mr. Park walking into the classroom.

The three boys sat in front of her, as usual, looking weirdly happy (All of them). Seungkwan had a cheery aura around him, probably caused by the constellation of purple-blue marks littering his neck and collarbone; Seokmin was just his happy self, saying a “Good morning!” along with a brilliant smile – and Melina would be lying if she said it didn’t make her feel better -, while Jihoon was smiling to himself, a single hickey painting the right side of his neck.

“Fuck.” The exchange student mumbled as the nausea came in a strong wave, making her clutch her stomach. “God, what the-”

Another wave, and she felt like really throwing up.

“Sana, I’m going- shit, I’m going home.” She whispered harshly, picking up her backpack and walking to the side of the classroom, opening the door and ignoring the weird stares thrown her way.

Closing the door behind her, the brunette ran to the closest bathroom, locking herself on a stall.

“Fuck- what the fuck did I even eat to get this-”

Doubling herself over in pain, she threw her backpack on the floor, clutching onto the toilet’s edge.

And then, as she opened her mouth, yellow petals flowed out.

Dozens of petals, being thrown out of her lips in a speed she thought would make her pass out.

Coughing, the last ones came out and fell on the floor, near her feet.

“Sun...flowers?” She whispered, blinking back tears. “No...”

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Melina got up, slinging her backpack over her shoulders; she kicked the petals that fell on the floor, putting them on the corner of the stall.

“God.” The brunette unlocked the stall, leaving the bathroom in quick steps… and coming face to face with Seokmin.

“Are you okay?” The auburn haired man asked, shaking his head right after. “Stupid question, of course you’re not. Do you want me to drive you back to the dorms?”

“I’m fine, Minnie.” Smiling, the woman shook her head. “There’s no need, it’s just five minutes.”

“Okay...” He said, reluctant. “But if you need anything, text me!”

“Will do.” She hugged him briefly, still smiling. “See you tomorrow.”

Seokmin watched his friend leave, biting his lower lip; it was no secret – to him and Seungkwan, at least – that Melina was in love with Jihoon. 

“Maybe she saw the hickey and got upset...” He sighed, stuffing his hands on his pockets. “Fuck, I gotta get back to class!”

And, on the way home, Melina noticed something as she looked at one of the petals that she threw up.

Yes, she loved Jihoon.

But he didn’t love her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melina was absent from classes for the rest of the week.

‘I ate something bad’, she said to every one of her friends, including Jihoon – that called her while he was accompanied by Yoonji, his long term crush.

Seungkwan and Seokmin didn’t buy that.

They appeared on the dorm when Sana was out with some of her friends, surprising Melina as she was watching a horror movie and – surprise – eating popcorn.

“See, it’s not an upset stomach- it’s her heart.” Seokmin said, making the woman cringe.

“Minnie, that was just awful.” She replied, putting the (now) empty bowl aside. “Why are you-”

A very familiar nausea wave hit the brunette, making her widen her eyes.

“Fuck, not now- get out, please!” She shouted at her friends, making a beeline for the bathroom.

“Why the fuck would I leave you, I’ve seen worse things than vomit.” Seungkwan said, following the Brazilian.

“This is not- Seungkwan, please!” She cried out, kneeling by the toilet – leaving the door wide open.

“No, I won’t leave you here copped up-”

“Kwannie, hold her hair up-”

“STOP!” She yelled, finally throwing up.

Petals after petals came out, filling the toilet and painting the floor a bright yellow; Seungkwan and Seokmin stood by the door, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes, until the latter blinked and kneeled by the brunette, taking her hand in his.

She squeezed it so much he held back tears.

After a couple minutes the flow of petals finally stopped, as Melina rested her head against Seokmin’s shoulder and breathed heavily. Still holding his hand, she squeezed it, mumbling a “thank you”.

“You have Hanahaki.” Seungkwan whispered.

Closing her eyes, the woman nodded.

Finally walking out of the doorway – his feet were rooted on the ground, it seemed -, the blonde kneeled by his friend, hugging her.

“It’s Jihoon, isn’t it?” Seokmin mumbled, frowning.

“Yes.” She sighed. “I don’t know when...” A lie.

It was at that time where he patted her head and smiled and his eyes crinkled; and that one time where he kicked Chan’s ass at Street Fighter and got so happy and laughed out loud; or that moment where they looked at puppies together and freaked out over how cute they were (And he made her swear that that day was never going to be mentioned to anyone); there was also the time where he fell asleep on the living room table and Melina had to drag him to his room.

It was everything he did, at any time. Because he was Jihoon.

There was no way she wouldn’t fall in love with him.

“Fuck-” A sob wracked the brunette’s body, lips trembling as she picked up a sunflower petal off the ground. “Shit… I’m going to die-”

“No, you’re not.” Seungkwan said, holding his friend close to his body. “You’re going to move on with someone, someone way better than that prick and you’re going to be loved with everything you deserve.”

“Seungkwan… no one has ever loved me before.” The woman said, tears filling up her eyes. “My two exes? I fucking confessed and they just went on with it. Even if I move on from Jihoon, there’s no guarantee that I’ll fall in love with someone and they’ll fall in love with me. Either way, it’s just… hopeless.”

“Don’t say that-” Seokmin said, his throat constricting. “It’s not hopeless...”

“Let’s just, please- let’s leave this between us, okay?” She said, sighing. “I don’t want to worry anyone.”

“Okay.” The boys said in unison, stealing a small smile from their friend.

“Thank you.”

“Does Sana know?” The auburn haired man asked, raking his fingers through the curls on Melina’s head with his free hand.

“No, I don’t want her to freak out. She’d definitely want to take me to a doctor- and no, I won’t go.”

Holding her friends’ hands, the woman made a choice.

“I’ll try to fall in love with someone else. But if it doesn’t work, I won’t have the surgery.” She said. “This… not being able to feel love, for all of you – my friends, family and even your pets -, I’d rather die than not feel it again. It’s not fair.”

Seokmin opened his mouth to protest, but Seungkwan beat him to it.

“Okay.”

“I know it’s too much, and I’m sorry. But I love you guys. Please, don’t ever forget that.” She sniffled, hot tears flowing out of her eyes. “And I’m really sorry...”

“It’s not your fault.” Seokmin mumbled, hugging her close. “Don’t apologize, we love you a lot too.”

And there, as she was hugged by two of the men she loved the most in her life, Melina knew that she wouldn’t give up love.

Not because of Jihoon, nor anyone else.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three months passed, and winter break eventually arrived.

Melina stopped avoiding her friends, who eventually discovered her condition. Chan, Hansol, and Mingyu found her throwing up sunflower petals on the floor of her room on a particular bad day (Jihoon announced he was dating Yoonji, after months of chasing after her); the oldest men, Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Joshua took a look at her pale face after she picked up a yellow petal from the ground – Jeonghan was a medical student who dealed with Hanahaki on a daily basis at the hospital he was an intern at, so he connected the dots pretty quickly. Soon after, Chan’s loud mouth blurted it out to Wonwoo, Minghao and Jun, making Seokmin almost beat him up, shocking everyone around them at that day. Soonyoung was the latest one to know, having eavesdropped on Mingyu’s talk with Seokmin – who wanted the woman to go under surgery, even though she said it was a no-go.

Everyone gathered around Cheol and Joshua’s apartment for a week before Christmas, as most of them would go to their relatives houses; the only ones staying where Jun, Minghao, Joshua and Melina, who couldn’t go back to their home countries. 

“Put a horror one.” The brunette said, whining. “Please, we only watch those nasty romcoms that Mingyu likes-”

“They’re not nasty!”

“They only have sex scenes, it’s gross.”

“Agreed.” Minghao said, nodding. “Let Mel choose for once, she’s the only woman and never gets to choose.”

“Thanks, Hao.” She smiled, hugging his arm. “How about ‘The Conjuring’?”

“That’s scary!” Soonyoung whined, elbowing Jihoon – gaining a nasty glare in response. “Tell them it’s scary, Jihoonie.”

“Stop calling me that- it’s a horror movie, it’s supposed to be scary!”

Snickering, Melina let go of her friend’s arm, going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As she poured the cold beverage on a cup, someone popped up behind her.

“Are you better?”

Blinking slowly, she turned around. Holding the cup with both hands to prevent herself from shaking, she smiled.

“Yeah.” 

“You don’t sound very sure.” Jihoon smiled awkwardly, fiddling with his phone. “Did you go to a doctor?”

“I did.” Her fake smile widened, but it was enough to make Jihoon stop questioning her. “It was just something I ate. After that I had midterms and… yeah. Finals rolled around too.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad you’re feeling-”

BIGBANG’s ‘If You’ filled the air, signalling that someone was calling the male.

“Sorry, I have to take this.” He smiled upon seeing the caller ID, accepting the call in just a few seconds. “Hey, Yoonji. Yeah, I’m at Shua’s now.”

As the black-haired man walked out of the kitchen, Melina put the cup inside the sink, sighing.

And the wave of nausea hit her like a truck.

“Shit no- not here!”

Speed walking out of the room, the brunette went to the closest place with a door – Seungcheol’s room. She closed it as silently as she could, sitting on the floor and clutching her stomach. 

“Breathe, just-” Heaving, she doubled over in pain, biting her lip to keep in a cry. “No, no...”

Leaning onto the wall, the Brazilian tried to breathe as slowly as she could, failing as she gasped for air. She let out a silent groan, closing her eyes and kneeling near the bed, trying to grasp onto something aside from her own body.

It was unbearable.

Tears flowed out of her eyes as she fisted the bed covers, closing her mouth as to not let anything out.

The door opened.

And she threw up.

This time it wasn’t just petals, though; seeds and leaves also flowed out, falling on the floor between her knees and the bed in a mess of blood and saliva.

A lean body held her up as her body thrashed around, coughing up green leaves and grey-black seeds covered in blood; her throat burned more and more with each passing second, the never ending flow of tears wetting her shirt and her friend’s hands.

“It’s going to pass.” Minghao said, gripping her tightly. “It’s- it’s going to go away.”

“Make it- stop, please.”

The last petal fluttered out, falling near the pile of leaves and seeds on the floor. 

“Please, Hao.” She sobbed, holding onto his arms. “I can’t take this anymore.”

Several steps sounded on the hallway, having noticed the two friends disappeared; another body collapsed near them, Seungkwan’s hands holding Melina’s face.

“Shit, no. We have to take you to a hospital-”

“Seungkwan, I told you I won’t do that.” She mumbled, leaning onto Minghao tiredly.

“What the fuck is going- the hell is this?” Jihoon exclaimed, making everyone wince.

Minghao breathed heavily, helping Melina sit up, letting the younger man hold her; he stood up, walking on the older man’s direction in quick strides.

“This- this is your fucking fault.” He jabbed a finger onto Jihoon’s chest, making the man take a step back.

“How is it my-” The black-haired man widened his eyes, finally realizing what it meant. “You...”

“It’s not his fault.” The Brazilian said from the floor, standing up with Seungkwan’s help. “It’s not anyone’s fault but mine.”

Walking past the boys, she sighed.

“Hao, can you give me a ride home, please?” She took the hand he used to hit Jihoon, squeezing it. “Please.”

The chinese man deflated visibly, nodding his head.

“I’m sorry, guys.” She gave them a tight smile, following Minghao out of the apartment.

Chan gave a step towards them, but Soonyoung held him back by his arm.

“Leave them.”

“I’ll go see her in the morning.” Seungkwan said, feeling his phone vibrate on his pocket. Chuckling dryly, he showed the screen to his friends.

From: Honey uwu  
Kwannie, can you clean up the mess on Cheol’s floor, please? And please tell him I’m really sorry. Sorry for leaving it for you, too.

“Shit.” Jun said, scratching his head. “I can’t take this.”

“None of us can.” Seokmin said, turning around. “I’ll grab the broom.”

Mingyu and Wonwoo stared at Jihoon while the other guys talked, seeing him absorb all the information dumped into him in less than a minute.

“I… I have to go.” He turned around, going out onto the hallway. “Yoonji called me to meet up.”

“Are you fucking serious?!” Seungkwan’s yell startled everyone; but it startled Jihoon even more, as he walked up to the older man and threw a punch to his face.

Four of them were needed to hold Seungkwan from beating up Jihoon, who just held his bruised jaw like a deer caught in headlights.

“SHE’S DYING!” He yelled, already crying. “My best friend is dying because of the love she feels for you and you’re going to meet up with your girlfriend! Are you fucking with me?!”

“Jihoon, get out.” Seungcheol pushed the younger onto the living room, towards the door. “Fucking go! Now!”

“Go before we decide to let him beat you.” Jeonghan said, nodding towards the entryway.

Jihoon gulped, leaving the apartment and closing the door behind him.

A ping sounded from his phone and he frowned, seeing that Yoonji was asking where he was.

‘Omw.’

As Lee Jihoon walked out to meet his girlfriend at the park, all he could think about was why he loved Han Yoonji.

And he couldn’t think of anything.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thanks, Hao.” 

Smiling at Melina, the chinese man nodded.

When they arrived at her dorm room – Sana was in Japan, visiting her parents -, he helped her walk for a little bit, until she recovered her strenght. As soon as she did, she took a quick shower and Minghao made her a bowl of chicken soup. 

Now she sat on her bed, trying not to cringe as the soup went down her damaged throat.

“This situation is so fucking shitty.” Minghao said, watching as his friend looked up from the bowl.

“It is.” She smiled, putting the bowl on her nightstand. “I’m seriously considering that surgery now, this fucking hurt.”

“Don’t.” The serious tone of Hao’s voice made Melina stare at him. “There are… some people who can live without feeling love, but there are some who can’t.”

He took her hand in his, squeezing it.

“Please don’t think I’m saying you’re weak, because you’re one of the strongest people I know.” His brown eyes bore into hers, reflecting the room’s dim lighting. “You stop to feel love, but you feel everything else. Pain, anger, hurt… it’s there. And every time you felt love- one of those replace it. It’s not a nice way to live.”

“Hao- you talk as if...”

“Yeah, I know.” He smiled sadly, leaning onto the chair he was seated. “I had roses, the worst case. Hurt like hell.”

Melina felt like crying again.

“I took them out three years ago, though. It wasn’t worth it.” He squeezed the brunette’s hand once again before getting up. “But you, you can overcome this. You’re strong, and I believe in you.”

“Hao-”

“Please, don’t give up like I did.” He smiled once again, waving from the doorway. “It’s not a good way to live.”

The chinese man disappeared before Melina could answer, gripping her bed sheets while trying to hold in her tears.

“I- I can do it.” Nodding to herself, she felt her eyelids drop heavily. “I won’t give up.”

Melina fell asleep, dreaming of a world where people could love without pain.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s been a week and a half.”

Looking at his phone screen, Jihoon mumbled.

His parents looked at him weirdly, wondering why the hell their son was talking to himself.

“Excuse me.” He got up from the table, going to his old room.

It’s been a week and a half since the night where he saw one of his closest friends throw up sunflower petals, leaves and seeds.  
A week and a half since Yoonji broke up with him at the park, and strangely, he didn’t feel heartbroken or mad at the fact that she showed up with her arm hooked onto Jisung Choi’s at the same park three days later.

A week and a half since he saw any of his friends.

He exchanged some weak ‘Merry Christmas’s with the boys on the groupchat, and Seungkwan apologized for punching him (But not for saying what he did, he clarified), but Melina gave no sign through any social media.

“I shouldn’t worry so much.” He mumbled, closing his room’s door and laying face-first on the bed. 

The man laid on his back, opening his laptop and placing it on his stomach. 

The first thing to greet him was the background picture: his friend group at a carnival. Most of them had popcorn bags on their hands, except Seokmin and Melina – The sweet tooth duo -, who held a cotton candy each, the latter with a blue smudge of sugar on her cheek; the memory hit him like a train and he remembered why he smiled so hard on that picture.

Opening the folder named ‘dorks’, Jihoon went through each picture, smiling more at each one, until he saw two videos. He clicked on the first one, pressing play.

_A pet shop window appeared, displaying three white puppies that played around on the space they were held in; the camera shook a little bit, until the one who filmed (Himself, Jihoon thought) finally focused and stayed still._

_‘Are you filming them?’ A feminine voice said, Melina’s face being captured a few seconds later._

_‘No, I’m taking pictures!’_

_‘No, you’re filming them!’ She laughed, showing him the red pulsing dot at the top of the screen. ‘See, you’re so excited about them that you pressed the wrong button.’_

_‘Pshh, I’m not excited.’ He grumbled, focusing on the brunette kneeling by the window, pressing her finger on the glass and giggling as the puppies tried to bite it._

_‘Admit it, you like puppies.’ She looked back at him for a moment, smiling widely. ‘Oh, look at you! You’re going to break the glass.’_

_‘Shit, that woman is looking at us weird.’ He mumbled, poking her shoulder. ‘Let’s go before she calls the cops.’_

_‘Can’t even fangirl over dogs anymore.’ The brunette pouted, looking at him with wide eyes. ‘Oh, you like cute things!’_

_‘You won’t let this go, will you?’_

_‘Never.’_

_‘Don’t mention this to anyone!’_

_‘Kay, I promise.’ She tilted her head to the right. ‘Are you still filming?’_

_‘Shit, yeah. I’ll turn it-’_

The screen turned black, and Jihoon pressed the play button on the other video.

_‘Is it filming?’ His voice uttered the phrase to someone, that mumbled a low ‘yeah’._

_They entered a dimly lit room, finding Seungkwan poking their friend’s shoulder, but she was dead asleep._

_‘How will we surprise her like this?’ Joshua, he noted, said._

_‘We won’t.’ He answered, shooing the boys from her room._

_The camera went black for a few seconds, but he heard a kissing sound, remembering how he kissed her forehead sweetly._

_‘Happy birthday, princess.’_

The video ended like that, making Jihoon close the laptop and sit up.

“Now it makes fucking sense, why the fuck was I such a stupid fuck-”

Toppling over the mess he made on the bed, he threw the clothes that were strewn around his room inside his suitcase, closing it. Grabbing his backpack – and putting his laptop inside it -, he dragged it and the suitcase to the living room in less than a minute (Surprising himself and his parents).

“I need to go back.” He took his father’s car keys, opening the front door like a mad man. “I have to go back! It makes sense now, I wasn’t sad because I didn’t love Yoonji, I-”

“Son, calm the fuck down.” His father said, grabbing his shoulders. “Why do you have to go back?”

“I’m an idiot.” He blinked, sighing. “I need to go back before tomorrow, it’s New Years and the train station will be packed-”

“Okay.” His mom hugged him, kissing his temple. “Your father will take you there.”

Jihoon shook his head, blinking slowly.

“Go, before I change my mind and hit you for being an idiot.”

The black-haired man grinned, kissing his mother’s cheek.

“Thank you, mom! I love you!”

And, as Jihoon hugged his father and got on the train back ‘home’, he noticed that he was falling in love with his friend.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m not nauseous anymore, Kwannie.” Melina sighed onto the phone, ignoring Seungkwan’s grumbles. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too! I’ll call you when the clock strikes midnight!”

The brunette hung up, stuffing her phone onto her hoodie’s pocket.

Her, Minghao and Jun were at Joshua’s apartment for New Years, as they’d rather pass it with only their friends instead of at a random party.

“It’s fifteen minutes till midnight~” Jun sang, slinging an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Are you gonna kiss me?”

“Not in a million years, man.” The Brazilian answered, smiling at Jun’s pout. “Jun, you’re smoking hot but you’re my friend and that would be gross.”

“I feel flattered.” He retorted, stealing a smile from the brunette.

“Hey, will you all drink wine or-” Joshua exclaimed from the kitchen, being interrupted by the doorbell.

“I’ll get it!” Minghao shouted, running to the door.

Joshua came out of the kitchen with a bucket filled with ice and a wine bottle, asking Jun to get the glasses.

“Are you fucking- the hell are you doing here?!”

Minghao’s yell startled his friends, who got up to investigate what was going on.

“I know you in particular don’t want to see me, but please. I need to talk to her.”

“She started to get better, Jihoon. You have no right to come here and make it worse again-”

“Why do you think she started to get better?”

“Guys?”

Both men looked at Melina, who was behind Joshua, gripping the back of his shirt tightly upon seeing Jihoon on the doorway.

“He’s just leav-”

“Let him in. Please, Hao- I think they need to talk.” Joshua said, softly gripping Melina’s hand on his own. “Only if you want to, though.”

Sighing shakily, the woman smiled, dropping her friend’s hand.

“It’s okay.” She looked up at the red headed man. “Is it okay to use Cheol’s room?”

As Joshua nodded, the woman motioned for Jihoon to follow her to the familiar room.

They got there in a few seconds; Jihoon closed the door behind him, turning around to see the brunette sitting on the bed – staring at the floor which she covered in sunflower petals in less than two weeks ago.

“So...” He gulped, taking quick steps to stay right in front of the woman. “Before I say anything, I need you to promise me that you’ll hear everything I have to say without interrupting. Can you do that?”

“Yeah… I promise.” She mumbled, widening her eyes when the black-haired man took her chin between his middle and index finger and lifted it.

“Please, look at me.” He said softly. “I… never loved Han Yoonji.”

Melina held in the urge to roll her eyes, still looking at Jihoon.

“I had a crush on her for the longest time, but I had no fucking reason why. And then, she moved to that sorority house and her ex roommate got another roommate – you.” He sighed. “You arrived so fucking fast and it was so easy to talk to you and to be near you. You were- you are one of my best friends.”

He let go of the brunette’s chin, sitting on the ground in front of her.

“And that fucking party happened. I wanted so bad to be near Yoonji that I forgot about my friends. I didn’t even see you going home because I was hooking up with my crush. I was a shitty friend and I’m really sorry for that.”

“Is that all you have to say?” The Brazilian asked, receiving a pointed look from her friend. “No? Sorry.”

“As I was saying, I was a shitty friend. I asked Yoonji out after hooking up a few tiimes and she accepted. I was fucking ecstatic, and it made me blind.” He shifted. “After a few weeks, I noticed how you got sick and it made me worry, but you said you were okay – I didn’t want to pry and make you uncomfortable. And then, when I saw you throwing up the sunflower petals, I got so fucking scared and mad that someone made you go through that – because, come on, who wouldn’t fall in love with you? It’s impossible.”

“You didn’t.” She whispered, almost crying. “How can you say something like that-”

“I did.”

The tears rolled down Melina’s face, making Jihoon sigh.

“I fell in love with you… there’s that fucking cheesy and cliché phrase-” He wiped her tears slowly, holding her cheeks. “Slowly, then all at once? That’s it.”

Sitting down beside the brunette, he smiled.

“When Yoonji broke up with me, I felt nothing. Because I didn’t love her.” He leaned closer to the woman, pressing their foreheads together. “Because I was falling in love with you since the moment you showed up at Mr. Park’s class, scared that he would cuss you out.”

Melina sobbed, holding onto Jihoon’s arms as he kissed her cheeks.

“So please… don’t cry anymore. I love you.”

Breathing in the cold air of the room, the woman bit her lip.

“Can... I talk now?”

“Yeah.” Jihoon laughed, basking in the proximity of their bodies.

“I don’t know when I fell in love with you… and I’m not good at these things at all.” She took off her glasses, putting them on the bedside table. “They’re getting fogged up, sorry. Uh- I love you too.”

Jihoon chuckled, pulling the brunette into a hug.

“I love you, I love you, I love yo-”

“Eh, why are you like this now?”

“I couldn’t say it before.” The older man said, kissing her temple. “Now that I know this- I will spend every moment of my life saying it.”

Melina giggled, hugging him back. Fireworks went off outside Seungcheol’s window, scaring the couple.

“It’s already midnight...” Melina mumbled, looking back at Jihoon. “Happy new year!”

“Happy new year.” He smiled, holding her cheek on his right hand. “Can I… kiss you?”

The Brazilian blinked, nodding slowly. Both of them closed their eyes, lips touching in a chaste kiss-

“ARE YOU FUCKING?!”

They jumped apart as the door opened with a bang, Jun looking frantically between them to see if they were clothed. Minghao just sighed, smiling upon seeing the red tint on both of their cheeks, and Joshua pulled their friends out of the doorway, shaking his head.

“I- for fuck’s sake.”

Melina laughed at Jihoon’s red face, causing him to pounce on her.

“Jihoon, no- what are you doing?”

“Giving you the love you deserve.” He sighed, cuddling into her side. “I love you. And I always will. I promise.”

Sticking out his pinky, he grinned as the brunette laced it with her own.

“I love you too. Forever and always.”

It was as they laid there, on Seungcheol’s bed, while they heard each others heartbeat, that Jihoon and Melina made a promise to love each other for eternity.

And, as she threw the sunflower bouquet behind her and saw dozens of women fight for it, Melina smiled along with Jihoon.

They laced their fingers walking out of the church, ready to start a new life together.

Melina loved sunflowers.

But she loved Lee Jihoon even more.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is it!
> 
> I really hope you guys liked it :)


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